This is a very legitimate question in my opinion. This has been Chris Bosh's problem during his whole career, you can count on him to have growth spurts in certain months, (last year March, year before January) however, I think Turkoglu is finally a player that can carry the load once Bosh has his early season or mid season crisis. This is probably the reason a lot of people wanted him traded. Notice, when talking about the 2010 FA class, no one expects Bosh to be the only signing, is usually coupled with Wade, Lebron or etc... I think there was a consensus at a time he isnt a franchise player, and I believed it at times.

bottom line- if he isnt consistent this year, he will have a very hard time becoming of the NBA elite and have the undisputed title of a franchise player. The fact that you can even raise questions about him being a franchise player is not that great to begin with.

It comes down to being consistent against the better teams. No more 40+ point games against the Bobcats and then 13 against the Celtics.
This is the best group Chris has had around him here. It's time to step up and lead.

i don't blame him if he doesn't meet people's certain expectations every night. MJ and Kobe didn't win championships shouldering all the loads by themselves; they had team mates who knew what/how to win. our problem last season was that no one could step up and take some of the pressure off Bosh. maybe this season will be different but who knows...

Under normal circumstances I would say no, since he is not an elite player (elite in my mind is the top 10 of the league, better than all star).

However, Bosh has the ability to become an elite player if he only would raise his defensive abilities. I will believe that he will keep with his bulking up program and will return a different man this fall.

All that separates Bosh from the elite players are his ability to play at a high level every game and to influence the game at both ends.

At what point is 20/10 coasting? How is that not considered elite at the PF position?

Do people honestly expect him to be Kobe? LeBron? Newflash: They play different positions. Those guys play positions where you NEED someone creative, someone who can break a guy off the dribble, etc. The problem is that we've never, ever have had a guy, no wait, we had Jamario and we chastised him. So, then we ask Chris (our best player) to try and do something he's not capable of doing. NO ONE at his position is capable of doing those things.

And as for someone slaming AB up there. You gotta be kidding me. His rookie year was solid and from December onwards he played well. Hell, he only played poorly for the latter portion of November and the beginning portion of December. So, take away a season where he was bothered by injuries and still recovering from surgery and he's played pretty damn well.

The guy we need at an elite level is simple. Jose. Teams run as their PG runs. If the PG can't play well, we're fucked no matter who we put in.

At what point is 20/10 coasting? How is that not considered elite at the PF position?

Do people honestly expect him to be Kobe? LeBron? Newflash: They play different positions. Those guys play positions where you NEED someone creative, someone who can break a guy off the dribble, etc. The problem is that we've never, ever have had a guy, no wait, we had Jamario and we chastised him. So, then we ask Chris (our best player) to try and do something he's not capable of doing. NO ONE at his position is capable of doing those things.

And as for someone slaming AB up there. You gotta be kidding me. His rookie year was solid and from December onwards he played well. Hell, he only played poorly for the latter portion of November and the beginning portion of December. So, take away a season where he was bothered by injuries and still recovering from surgery and he's played pretty damn well.

The guy we need at an elite level is simple. Jose. Teams run as their PG runs. If the PG can't play well, we're fucked no matter who we put in.

Raptors fans have similar expectations as some of the other players from Bosh's draft class. That if Wade and LeBron can carried their respective teams on their backs, why can't Bosh?

I'll never truly understand the hate for Bosh here in Toronto. All I know is that if people think we're going to be a better team without him if he leaves after this season, get ready for even more years mediocrity.

I don't know if we lose Bosh we'll be mediocre all of a sudden. It depends if we decide to either trade him for the right piece, Andrea develops into a Dirk type of player or we get a massive upgrade at the 2/3 position.

I'll say this though, we're in a nice position IF Bosh does leave, which I'll say doesn't happen, simply based on the economics of the situation.

Bosh elevating his game in Nov last year is such a myth... the jump in his numbers was because he was getting 42 minutes a game. Adjusted to his normal 36 minute pace, his ppg in Nov was 22.7.

I think it's commendable Bosh was able to keep playing that hard with the extra minutes, but he didn't get "better". At this point unless he bulks up and gets a back to the basket game, Bosh is who he is

I don't know if we lose Bosh we'll be mediocre all of a sudden. It depends if we decide to either trade him for the right piece, Andrea develops into a Dirk type of player or we get a massive upgrade at the 2/3 position.

I'll say this though, we're in a nice position IF Bosh does leave, which I'll say doesn't happen, simply based on the economics of the situation.

Maybe a little premature on my behalf because I wasn't taking into account the assets we'd hopefully acquire if it were a sign and trade for Bosh, but if he walks away and we get nothing in return I don't see Bargnani being an upgrade at PF at this point in his career.

Until the start of next season I'm not 100% confident that Bargnani will return to the form he had during 2nd half of last season. Unless he can start rebounding this season, if we lose Bosh we also lose our greatest asset on the glass. Boards have killed this team for years and eventhough we acquired Evans he's only a bandaid and not a long term fix.

So, I personally think the key figure with this franchise at the moment is still Bosh and until Bargnani steps up for good I will always be nervous and skeptical.